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The Mortgage Collaborative engages industry expert Michael Larssen, CMB and Larssen Consulting Group as Strategic Advisor
SAN DIEGO, CA (February 11, 2014)– The Mortgage Collaborative, a mortgage cooperative founded by several noted industry leaders to enable its member mortgage companies to compete more effectively in today’s shifting lending environment, today announced their engagement of Larssen Consulting Group as a key strategic advisor. The Mortgage Collaborative was founded in 2013 to empower mortgage lenders across the country with better financial execution, reduced costs, enhanced expertise and improved compliance.
The Larssen Consulting Group of Clearwater, Florida is led by industry expert Michael Larssen, CMB, and specializes in solving strategic challenges for lenders and expanding originations via recruiting, mergers and acquisitions. Prior to founding his consulting group, Larssen was chief credit officer and national sales manager of Atlanta-based Correspondent One, where he was responsible for the credit policy, oversight of outsourced due diligence functions and business development. Larssen also was a founding member of St. Louis-based Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, serving as the company’s executive vice president and helping expand its membership. Earlier in his career, he was executive vice president at Mortgage Investors Group in Knoxville, Tennessee, an originator with $2 billion of primarily retail annual volume, and senior vice president at Columbia Home Loans in Valhalla, N.Y.
“We are extremely pleased to have Michael Larssen join the Mortgage Collaborative as a strategic advisor,” said Mortgage Collaborative Chairman John Robbins, CMB, a former chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). “Michael’s engagement brings his years of experience as a mortgage lender as well as direct experience with the cooperative structure. It is imperative that we establish more collaborative ways for mortgage lenders to work together to enhance their margins and increase their collective strength,” Robbins noted. “Michael is very passionate about the value of the cooperative model and, with his leadership, we will better position small and mid-sized lenders for success.”
Few executives know the lending cooperative concept as well as Larssen. “I have personally witnessed how the power of collaboration can make immense changes to mortgage lenders and drive value,” Larssen observed. “I attribute a great deal of my success in the industry to the extremely valuable networking opportunities afforded by the extensive relationships developed through the cooperatives. There is truly an unlimited number of improvements that can be made when all partners leverage the power of collaboration among lenders, vendors, investors, and all parties of the mortgage life cycle,” he said. “The leadership team of The Mortgage Collaborative is world class and we intend to take a strategic and innovative approach to rebuilding the credibility and viability of mortgage lenders.”
Larssen received his Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) distinction in 2005 and today is an active member of the Mortgage Bankers Association, where he has served on the MBA Fraud and Ethics Committee. He was previously the vice president of the Knoxville, Tennessee MBA. Currently, Larssen is a member of the Interthinx National Fraud Advisory Council. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from St. John’s University in New York City.
About The Mortgage Collaborative
Based in San Diego, California, The Mortgage Collaborative was founded in 2013 to empower mortgage lenders across the country with better financial execution, reduced costs, enhanced expertise and improved compliance, as well as helping members access the dynamic and changing consumer base in America. The association is managed by its founding members, John Robbins, CMB; David Kittle, CMB; Gary Acosta, CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP); and Jim Park, former chair of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA). Robbins and Kittle are former chairmen of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. For more information visit: www.MortgageCollaborative.com or contact Michael Larssen at mlarssen@mtgcoop.com.